Jack Del Rio said that the Jaguars needed to exorcise the West Coast Demon that plagued the team during 2009. Instead, the Demon responded by turning it's head around and spitting abunch of green slime back at the team. Turnovers, a swiss cheese secondary, and just a generally poor execution defined another nightmare game on the West Coast.
The main storyline coming out of the game is the franchise record six turnovers. Turnovers were a critical reason why the Jaguars didn't do squat on the West Coast last year and it continued today. David Garrard is going to bear the brunt of that by throwing a career high four interceptions. While one INT was a tipped ball that wasn't entirely his fault, the first and last interceptions were entirely on Garrard. The first was a pass that he held onto too long and then underthrew it. The other was a pass I think he intended to throw to Brandon Siler, as there wasn't a single Jags WR anywhere in the area.
The secondary was a major concern coming into the game and they promptly showed why. While Courtney Green did have a very pretty INT in the end zone, there weren't many other positive moments for the secondary. Philip Rivers got passes off quickly to negate the Jaguars pressure and made the Jags pay every time they couldn't get home.
However, the main thing that I'm going to take away from this game was the generally horrendous play by both the Jaguars and Chargers, particularly in the 1st half. The two teams combined for eight turnovers and a blocked punt. The offensive line wasn't nearly as cohesive as they were a week ago vs Denver.
Some other thoughts
-It may be time to start wondering just what is up with Maurice Jones-Drew. Preseason was brushed off, and while he didn't look himself vs Denver, he still put up solid numbers. However, he simply looked slow today. On the other hand, Rashad Jennings is beginning to show some real promise.
-Garrard's career low QB rating is 25.5. It came in 2006 in a 13-10 loss to Houston. Consequently, it is the only other game in his career he's thrown 4 INTs.
-Aaron Kampman is still awesome.